Tripp wiggled his fingers around and ironed out the kinks in his neck, showing little remorse for his actions.
Bonnie, Jaycee and Tor watched Tripp turn to face them and crack his knuckles.
"I’m not proud of what I just did but it was necessary. No one say a damn word.”
No one dared say a damn word until Tripp gave his permission. He calmed his breathing and opened his eyes on Wool’s snoring face, “When she wakes up, she’ll be back to normal. She’ll have forgotten this."
"Not stop Shanta… they come," Jelly jumped from the bed and landed on all fours. "I go." One by one, the pads and wires pinged away from her body.
"Who come, honey?" Bonnie squeezed the Rez-9 in her hand.
"Shanta," she swiped the panel on the wall and pressed the end of one of her infinity claws to her chest, "Jelly. Help humans fight. War comes."
The door whizzed open, letting Jelly disappear into the corridor.
"For heaven’s sake," Bonnie bolted after her, "Come back, girl!"
Jaycee nodded at Tor to follow Bonnie, "Protect the young lady, trooper."
"What with?" Tor held up his bare, decidedly weapon-free hands.
"Your sense of humor?" Jaycee punched him on the back with his broken wrist, "Get out of my sight."
"Oww! Okay, okay," Tor darted out of the room, "Bonnie, I’m coming!"
"Are you staying here with Wool? I think we should—" Jaycee turned to Tripp in shock, "What the hell are you doing?"
Tripp inserted the business end of his Rez-9 into his mouth. He hooked his finger around the trigger.
"No!"
Jaycee jumped forward and punched the gun out of Tripp’s hand.
BLAM!
Jaycee got there in the nick of time. The barrel slid away from Tripp’s mouth as the bullet tore through the inside of his cheek and splattered the contents of his face against the wall.
"Are you crazy?" Jaycee kicked the Rez-9 across the tiles and held Tripp’s left cheek. "What’s gotten into you?"
The right side of Tripp’s face convulsed, spitting electrical sparks over his busted titanium cheekbone. The top and bottom row of his teeth chattered together through the singed synthetic skin.
"I c-c-c-c-cannot-t…" the rotors in his eyelids whirred as they windscreen-wiped over his pupils. "J… Jay-Jay-Jay…"
"—Hey!" Jaycee screamed into his face. "Knock it off."
THWUNK!
Jaycee thumped Tripp’s neck connector into place. "Don’t ever do that again.”
The two rods in Tripp’s throat whirred and lifted his head back into position. Tripp’s retinas spun around and focused on Jaycee’s face.
"Who’s ugly now?" Jaycee said.
Tripp felt the cavity on the right side of his face with his fingers, "You bastard."
"Me? I saved you."
"Saved me? Saved me from what?" Tripp’s voice flew out of his half-singed lips and the hole in his cheek, "Saved me from an eternity of rest and peace? Screw you."
Tripp planted his palms on Jaycee’s chest plates and pushed him back with all his might.
Enough time for him to dive for the discarded Rez-9 and finish himself off for good.
"Oh, no. No, you don’t get to take the easy way out you selfish—" Jaycee kicked himself away from the wall and slid onto his ass, feet-first, priming himself to boot Tripp up the backside before he reached the gun.
"No, no, no—" Jaycee bent his knees as he barreled toward his friend, "Tripp, don’t—"
Tripp grabbed the grip of the Rez-9 in his hand and rolled onto his back. He jammed the barrel under his jaw and buried it deep into his chin.
THWOCK-BLAM!
Jaycee’s boot smashed into Tripp’s hand, crunching his mechanical fourth and fifth fingers up and out. They splintering and fizzing away at the knuckle as Rex-9 sprung from his hand.
"Ngggggg!" Tripp hopped to his feet and grabbed the K-SPARK strap secured around his chest, "Leave me alone, leave me alone—"
"—Hey!" Jaycee bent his elbow, ready to punch Tripp through the window, "You move one damn motor and I’ll kill you myself."
"You wanna do me a favor?" Tripp lifted the strap, hoping Jaycee would kill him, "I consider it externally assisted suicide. Come and kill me."
Jaycee clenched his fist, "Don’t do this, Tripp."
Tripp lifted the K-SPARK strap over his fizzing, brutalized face. Jaycee jumped forward and pushed him against the wall by his shoulders, ‘Stop doing that!”
Tile dust coughed down around them as Jaycee slammed Tripp against the wall.
"Damn it, listen to me," Jaycee whispered. "You’re an Androgyne, right?"
"Yes," Tripp’s voice developed a jarring and somewhat inhuman tone since the blast to his head, "I am."
"No one cares, my friend. And why should they? What was it you told me when I found out I was, too?"
"No, don’t—"
"You’re a man, aren’t you?" Jaycee thumped him against the wall, shattering the cracks apart.
"Yeah," Tripp muttered, close to tears.
Jaycee slapped the good side of Tripp’s face, “Don’t you dare cry in front of me, Captain.”
“I d-don’t know what to—
"—You have memories? A loving family, right?"
"Yes. I do."
"What’s your son’s name?"
"Ryan," Tripp’s pink tears sluiced through his shiny, synthetic skeleton. It trickled down his exposed row of teeth, “At least, I think he’s my son. I’m not so sure, now.”
Jaycee screwed his face at the lump of emotional technology he kept pinned against the wall.
"Then as far as everyone’s concerned, you’re a human being. What’s the difference?"
Tripp’s broken face revealed he was far from human. Both men knew that the reality of their situation was merely - literally, even - skin deep.
"You may be made of reinforced titanium, but you have a healthy set of organs like any other human. And a fully-functioning brain. You have memories."
"I remember everything."
"All that anger deep in your gut? Put it to good use. Focus it at those bastards in there." Jaycee pointed at the door with his wiry stump and chucked Tripp forwards.
Wool’s eyes fluttered. She pressed her elbows to the ground and groaned. "Oh, oh, my head. I must have fallen asleep."
Tripp moved away from the window and offered Wool his hand, "Get up."
None of them saw the view of the ocean through the window. If they had, they’d have seen the tree slowly re-emerging in the center. This time, the branches resembled limbs rather than branches.
The spinning sun above it ravaged the sky, creating a soft vortex-like shape amongst the silky white clouds.
"What happened?" Wool groaned and held her forehead. The scratches on her face were still fresh, not that she’d noticed.
"We’re going to fight the bad guys—" Tripp threw Jaycee off him and grabbed his K-SPARK in both hands.
"—Wha… where’s Jelly?"
"We’re going to protect her," Tripp pulled the creases out from Wool’s crumpled inner-suit, "Stay here and keep an eye on the E-MRI report. It’s the safest place for you."
Wool saw half of Tripp’s face was missing, "My God, what happened to your face?"
"I fell."
Jaycee burst with laughter at Tripp’s crap retort. At least his friend had finally snapped out his depression.
"That’s one hell of a staircase," Wool attempted to touch the broken half of his skull, “It’s okay, Tripp. You’re human to me. I can’t imagine what it must be like discovering you’re an Androgyne. Just know that I’m on your side."
Jaycee shook his head at Wool’s fresh naivety, “Better the devil you know, eh?”
"Jaycee, let’s go," Tripp walked backwards toward the door and threw Wool a wink with his right eye. A partial success, given his eyebrow had ceased operation, "And I’m sorry for hitting you."
"You hit me?"
"Never mind," Jaycee b
ounded after Tripp as he walked through the door.
Wool felt the scratch on her cheek, “That explains that, then,” She turned to the E-MRI image and clicked her finger, "Commence diagnostic report, please."
The abdomen contour glowed a bright pink. "What’s that?" she whispered, surprised by the image.
"ETA three minutes," advised the machine.
***
Jelly bounded on all fours through the sliding door to Botanix. She slowed down to a cautious crawl, splashing along the three-inch pool of water that had formed from the broken H20 unit.
She lowered her head and lapped away at the water with her tongue.
CRASH-BAM-BAM-SCREECH!
The force field blanketing the broken end of Botanix prevented thousands of Shanta from entering the ship.
Jelly had yet to clock the apocalyptic commotion from outside. She was thirsty, and feeding time came first. Her ears lifted, finally attuned to the chaos that lay fifty feet away.
Bonnie ran into Botanix and clocked the Shanta trying to get in. She slid behind a battered plant and held her Rez-9 at the force field, "Jesus, they’re everywhere."
Tor ran in after her and froze solid. "Oh, jeez. Forget that." He turned around and made for the door.
"Hey, ass clown," Bonnie pointed her gun at him. He threw his hands up and gasped.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
"Um, I thought I’d—"
BLAM!
She fired a warning shot across his shoulder, "You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying and fighting."
"I don’t have a gun."
"I know. We might need you as a protective umbrella, so stick around. Get over by the H2O unit and quit your whining. Now."
"Okay.”
It was either get shot by Bonnie or torn apart by those things outside.
"Yeah, that’s right,” Bonnie smirked as she watched him run, “Our own little maggot bait to hook the fish.”
Jelly lifted her head at the word fish. She clamped eyes on the Shanta jumping at the force field and growled.
"Jelly, sweetie?” Bonnie yelled, “What are you doing?"
She pushed herself back on her hind legs and squatted on her knees. "Miew," She lifted her behind, straightened her tail and stood up straight for the first time in her life.
"Oh, good God…" Tor’s jaw dropped at the wondrous sight of Jelly standing up straight like a proper, regular human.
She arched her back and pushed her chest forward. Her arms stretched out sideways. The infinity claws on each hand sprung out like a bladed star.
"Nggggg," she winced and threw her head back, feeling spine adjust and straighten to that of a human. "Uh, uh, uh…"
Tripp and Jaycee stormed into Botanix, ready for war.
"Shhh!" Bonnie turned to them and waved them over. "Something’s happening to her."
Jaycee clomped over to the opposite wall and sneered at the Shanta. He lifted the mount lever down on the side of his K-SPARK and lowered it to the ground.
"Stand back, people."
The gun’s grip folded out in three directions and attached itself to the floor, propping the bulk of the weapon on a tripod. A devastating-looking turret waved its barrel left and right ready to open fire.
"It’s armed."
Jelly’s hair dropped down the back of her neck. Standing a clear four feet tall, the back of her neck and shoulders suggested she’d formed into a healthy adolescent.
She turned around and faced Tripp, Bonnie, and Jaycee.
"Jelly…" Bonnie said, softly. "You’re…"
"I am," she said in her new sultry and husky voice. Only a small semblance of cat remained as the ship hovered a few feet from the grounds, "They like war. Let’s give them war."
"Okay, Jelly," Tripp said.
"Then, we go," she finished in her six-year-old girl’s voice.
He lifted his K-SPARK in both arms, "Do it."
Gracefully, Jelly twisted around and held her palm out. The pain in her stomach bulged a glowing, bright pink color.
She spread her infinity claws out and held her palm to the force field, humming to herself, "Da-da-da-dumm…"
"Wh-what’s she doing?" Tor peered out from behind the water unit.
"Shut up," Bonnie snapped.
The ship’s thrusters double-powered, lifting the lip of Botanix up from the sandy surface by a few meters.
A pink beam of light waded through the air from Jelly’s stomach and sucked into the padding in her palm.
The infinity claws lit up like a sparkler, surrounding a beautiful pink orb of light between her fingers.
"War… Mage," she whispered softly to herself.
WHOOSH!
She threw the ball of light against the force field and cowered, slapping her tail against the ground, "Quack-quack."
“What?” Tripp blurted.
“Ah. Uh, duck,” Jelly giggled, correcting herself.
Bonnie, Tripp and Jaycee turned away and crouched as the ball shattered the force field into a thousand sharp pieces.
The stalactite remains stabbed through the first row of Shanta, severing their limbs and impaling their opened, central mouth-slits.
The badly injured Shanta collapsed to the floor, trampled by the onslaught of hundreds - if not thousands - more.
"Open fire," Tripp began blasting at the swarm of Shanta bouncing across the walls and swinging from the ceiling by their limbs.
BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAMM!
"Get some of that you ugly bastards!
The floor-mounted K-SPARK rotated left and right, firing off sixty rounds per second. The bullets tore through the nearest flurry of Shanta, separating their limbs in a gory torrent of pink liquid.
FLUMP-THRASH!
Tripp sprayed a round of bullets at the Shanta, killing off the Tetris-like build-up of creatures flooding around the planets and walls.
"Tripp, this is Wool," her voice came through his wrist, "Can you read me? Christ, this is urgent."
"What is it Wool? I’m in the middle of a gun-fight."
"Switch to personal headset. This is amaziant."
The side of Tripp’s burnt ear lit up, transmitting Wool’s voice into his head as he fired shots at the oncoming beasts.
Jelly sprinted on all fours over to the H20 unit with Tor and took cover from the battle.
"Hey, Jelly."
She scowled and flipped him her middle infinity claw, "Hating you."
"Tor!" Tripp said, in between blasts, "Protect Jelly, or I’ll blast your head clean off your shoulders like Landaker."
"What?"
"Protect Anderson."
"Tripp?" Wool yelled into his head, "Personal comms, Tripp. Do you read me?"
"Yes, Wool. I read you. Can’t it wait?"
"No, it can’t…"
Tripp joined Bonnie and blasted a Shanta beast away from the ceiling. Its limbs exploded as the inertia of the bullet pushed it back into the others like a bowling ball against a fresh stack of pins.
Bonnie emptied her magazine into the gory crowd. "I’m out!" She flung her Rez-9 at the baying aliens and lifted her knee.
"Look at that," Jaycee booted a creature in the face and blasted its mid-section apart. He pointed at the horizon. The black tree had fully regrown to its enormous size - and developed twelve limb-like branches, "Tripp, man. You seeing this?"
"I’m talking to Wool—" he stopped mid-sentence and clapped eyes on the three. "Oh, God, it’s moving!"
The ship jolted around, smacking the edge of Botanix against the sand. The hordes of Shanta crashed along the floor, spilling over one another and tumbling out of the ship.
A few dozen remained inside and continued to attack.
"We’re losing altitude. We’ve hit the ground," Bonnie held her mechanical leg in her arm and fired a burst of bullets from her toes. She raised her left arm to her face, "Manuel, get us out of here!"
"Dr. Whitaker. I cannot engage the thrusters."
"What?" Bonnie backed up to
the wall and shot an approaching creature in its mouth-slit. It detonated, contributing to the already-gore-soaked floor with its pink blood and liquefied organs.
"Ugh, this is insane," Bonnie looked at Tor, "You keep Jelly safe, you hear me?"
"Tripp?" Wool shouted over the deafening chaos, "Get Jelly out of there right now."
A Shanta jumped from the top of the H2O unit and made for Tripp.
"I can’t hear you, hold on," Tripp removed the empty magazine from the K-SPARK grip and tossed it at the creature, “I’m out!’ He retrieved his Rez-9 from his belt and aimed it at the monstrosity, "Come and get it, beautiful."
BLAM-BLAM-SCHPLATT!
Five of its limbs splattered in the haze of bullets, pushing what little remained of its body at Tor’s feet.
He yelped and stomped on its slit in utter terror, "Ugh, get it away from me!"
"Yes, Wool," Tripp said. "What’s that? Oh, good."
Jaycee turned to Tripp and raised his eyebrows, "What’s up?"
Tripp lowered his gun and turned to Jelly. The news he received was very important, "Are you sure?"
Jaycee hopped onto the back of the floor mounted K-SPARK and aimed it at an influx of Shanta creeping over the dead plants, "Bonnie, reload. Get behind me."
"Thanks," she dived behind him and released her dead magazine to the ground. She kicked it away and palmed a fresh magazine into the grip, "Reloading!"
"I understand, Wool." Jelly’s cowering reflected in Tripp’s glazed eyes. "I’ll… God… I’ll send her back up."
"Tripp, what’s going on?" Bonnie held her foot up and blasted three Shanta creatures to smithereens with her leg.
BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-KA-SCHPLATT!
She took out three Shanta in a row with three shots, "Tripp, what’s—"
"—Hey, Tor!" Tripp barked at him. "Take Jelly back up to Medix right now."
"What?"
"Do it," Tripp blasted another creature out of the ship.
SCHTAAAMMM! SCHTAAAM!
The one-hundred-foot tree in the middle of the ocean thumped its first limb to the sand, followed by the second. The pink sky swirled around like milk pouring into a freshly-stirred cup of coffee.
"Get her out of here, numbnuts!" Tripp barked.
Tor offered Jelly his hand, more than happy to escape battle, "Come with me. Take my hand."
"Hisssss," she scowled at him and swiped her infinity claws at his face.
Star Cat: Pink Symphony Page 23